What is done, … but not done.

Sometimes when I talk to people about this blog they say, “Aren’t you going to run out of projects at your house to blog about?” Because my house is small and for the most part completely decorated, I understand their question, but the answer is always ‘No.’ A few weeks ago I did a post showing the ‘before’ and ‘current state’ of my house where I listed out what I’ve accomplished so far and what I hope to do in the future, but that isn’t where the list ends. I don’t consider myself an artist, but allow me to use the analogy that I’m an artist and my house is my canvas and for that reason I don’t think I’ll ever be able to consider this house finished. So here is a run down of what looks done but in my mind is not done and may never be.

Bedroom bookshelves:

This is an older picture of these bookshelves (currently the books are still backwards) but overall it is the same. I hate this wall which is unfortunate considering it is directly across from my bed and I have to stare at it every night. I love the dark blue walls but as soon as I painted them I realized that the black bookcase would have to go because it is too dark against the wall color. I’ve considered painting it white or something but geez, that sounds like an awful amount of work. The small silver shelf was never intended to stay there long but I haven’t taken the time to find it another home. Overall, this wall annoys me because it is messy and random and too dark. I’m waiting until I get a bookcase for the dining room wall until I deal with this though. My hope is that the dining room bookcase will hold all of the books from these shelves plus all my books in storage (of course, by ‘storage’ I mean stacked in a corner of my room looking hoarder-ish) and then I can get rid of this bookcase. Don’t get me wrong though I genuinely love this bookcase. Having glass doors on a bookshelf seriously changed my life, but I’m not sure I’ll have a place for this bookshelf once it is moved out of this room. I could keep it in the basement in hopes that I’ll use it in future but that seems wasteful somehow. I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it. Same with the silver shelf, I don’t have any other plans for it currently so who knows where it will end up. So what will I do with that wall when it is blank?

I’d like to get a parson’s desk and add a large cork board or art above it. I haven’t had a desk in years and I don’t need one to sit at, but it would be nice to have a place to organize and store ‘officey’ stuff. But we’ll see, I’m always changing my mind about this sort of stuff.

The Living Room Tables:

If you count, there are two side tables and a coffee table in here and I hate them all. Actually that’s not true, I hate two out of three. The left side table is Lack table from IKEA that cost $7.99 and it serves it’s purpose but it’s boring. The coffee table was $30 on clearance from IKEA and I feel the same way about it. I like the table on the right because it’s from CB2 and it opens up like an old school desk but it looks sort of weird where it is. I like the mismatched look (they are all different styles but since they are all white they work together) but I’d like to upgrade in the future.

What I have now is just place holding for better stuff so I’m always on the look out for a the perfect replacement.

TV Stand Area:

I love this dresser and the lamps and the harp and the TV, but how it is set up now is a little bland. My plan is to hang the TV (I have the mount I just haven’t attempted to do it myself yet) and possibly hang art around it, like this:

Considering I already have the TV mount this project should be completed soon but I’ve had it for over two months now and it hasn’t even made it to my to-do list so maybe not.

Dining Room:

Ugh, the whole dining room is bugging me right now. I really want to repaint it but I’m holding back because I don’t want to have to redo the postcard art which I love. But that messy gallery wall to the right has got to go. I’m still hoping to get my dream bookcase one of these day (I know I’m like a broken record talking about that stinkin’ bookcase – you have no idea how much I think about it, it’s nearly compulsive) and I would like to paint before that happens, but who knows.

Things I love in this room: postcard art, light fixture, and the curtains.

I’m thinking about painting the room a lighter color and simplifying the gallery wall and since I can’t afford a new table maybe I’ll get a tablecloth or something. I’m thinking of going with a lighter color like this:

I don’t know if I can go lighter though. I’ve tried it in almost every room now and I always go back to dark and bold colors. I’m just afraid that I’ll paint it a lovely dove gray and hate it. Soooo…. who knows what will happen.

Overall, I’m very happy with what I’ve done to my house so far and everyone is very complimentary of it, but since it is my work I will always see the cracks and imperfections in it. The good news is that I’ll always have a new project to tackle which is fine by me since I really enjoy doing this sort of stuff.

Do you feel the same way about areas of your house? Or am I just too picky?